More than any other popular music genre, hip-hop has managed to survive against all odds, transcending cultural boundaries and even infiltrating other musical styles. Far from being confined to any particular era, its popularity continues to increase, with no signs of flagging. With this is in mind, audiences watching Benji Reid, who draws on his b-boy roots to create ‘hip-hop theatre’, might be shocked and confronted when his latest piece begins by suggesting hip-hop is dead.
In between rehearsals for Slam Dunk, a show he is co-directing and co-choreographing about ‘brotherhood, beats and basketball’, Reid tells me the basic premise of his new one-man show, 13 Mics, is that the ‘voice of revolution in hip-hop is dead.’ Reid plays a number of different characters, each represented by one of 13 microphones surrounding him on stage – from a young boy to an old American guy. In telling their stories, each one describes their version of hip-hop.
